Driving Tour

We have a lovely marina view room at the Shangri-La here in Cairns.


Cairns is a wonderful tropical city. We spent some time exploring the hotel grounds, and then went out for a walk on the esplanade.

We booked a tour of the barrier reef for tomorrow, and then took a drive north to the Mossman Gorge National Park. Along the way we stopped at the Cairns Tropical Zoo where we saw dingoes, wallabies, kangaroo, wombats, crocodiles, and other assorted Australian critters. And where we were photographed cuddling a koala.


We also stopped for a bit in Palm Cove where there are lots of resort hotels and a beautiful sandy beach.


When we reached the Mossman Gorge we followed the walking paths through the rainforest and near the river.

Later back at the hotel we had dinner at a seafood restaurant where I ventured to try a local fish that was very good. Before dinner we had time to catch some of the final rays of sunset from the esplanade.


More after our reef tour tomorrow.